hi
just wandering about people's thoughts about how far forward the x-prize has pushed having frequent commercial space travel and exploration.

The x-prize
Rutan said the x-prize was a bonus did he not, or somewhere along those lines however look at how many spaceships are being built now! so has the x-prize its self actually pushed forward commercial space travel at all? i would estimate it has because of the shear amount of companies investing! so maybe.... 10 years forward?

Scaled
They have realy pushed it forward with no other team even in space yet at the end of the year! any thoughts?
with virgin on board i would say alone they have created public awareness and brought forward commercial space flight quite a few years!

Virgin/scaled
All the money involved and the future with the vss enterprise etc and the first company to have been built it must be a good 20 years forward, and saying about orbiting hotels and ships within 30 years!!!! i would say that this has been the most influential party in creating space flight for the masses.

anyone want to add anything here or any other ideas? thought was worth a chat about
Rob

Most of this has been discussed and said earlier in other sections of this board - but it is right, correct and fully justified to say it here too. The reason is that the XPRIZE Foundation and the prize have assisted significantly to all this provided enhanced publicity and created competiton which could avoid long-term monopoly of Scaled Composites and force reductions of ticket prices.

Scaled in turn has done something fundamental - thex consequently developed further an existing technology well known all over the world. And others have been doing so too and are continuing work - Rocketplane for example.

Geniality often or mostly in its essence is detetcting a very simple and "trivial" approach, its meaning and its impact. Rutan seems to have this geniality.

It will be intersting who will be the next making it up to more than 100 km altitude - besides one special team...